The present invention comprises a new and distinctive New Guinea Impatiens plant, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar named xe2x80x98Balcebpursxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar is the product of a controlled irradiation program. More specifically, cuttings from xe2x80x98Grape Crushxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,107) were irradiated with 2 kilorads of gamma rays and allowed to grow. One of the cuttings was discovered to exhibit a flower with petals having a distinct striping pattern and was allowed to continue growing. The resulting plant exhibited a number of flowers having petals which displayed the same striping pattern. This cutting/plant was designated BFP-1865. Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal or stem cuttings taken during 1998 and 1999 at Arroyo Grande, Calif., U.S.A. has demonstrated that the characteristics of the new cultivar as herein described are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.
It was found that the cultivar of the present invention:
(a) Exhibits attractive large round flowers with distinctive striping pattern,
(b) Forms medium green foliage,
(c) Exhibits a good basal branching character.
The xe2x80x98Balcebpursxe2x80x99 cultivar has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such as temperature, light intensity, and day length.
When the new cultivar of the present invention is compared to Grape Crush, it is found to be substantially identical in growth habit, form and size. However, the flower color is distinctly different. The flower color of the new invention exhibits a background color of Red-Purple Group 74A with stripes of Red-Purple Group 65C (adaxial) and Red-Purple Group 74B (abaxial) whereas xe2x80x98Grape Crushxe2x80x99 flowers are Red-Purple Group 74A with the lower four petals commonly displaying bases of 53C (abaxial) and Red-Purple Group 74B (abaxial).